Trump, Schiff and the Stink of the American Political System

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/trump-doj-obtained-data-on-schiff

Greenwald rightly calls out Democratic hypocrisy regarding the issue of government spying. The tools which they helped to create and endorse were turned against them. These are the same tools that violate the US Constitution, undermine free speech and democracy, and the same tools they used to violate international agreements – and yes, spy on not just citizens but people within the government – and even political figures in other governments.

They're happy to utilise these powers when they're the ones holding the cards. That said, Trump is cut from the same cloth, albeit its underside. His motives are perhaps more base and his manner is more animalistic, but in the end they're all part of the same hypocrisy.

Truth be told, figures like Schiff, Swalwell, and certainly Donald Trump should never be granted authority or the kind of powers they have possessed. Schiff is a serial liar, surpassed only by Donald Trump who seems utterly incapable of speaking any truth at all.

And as Greenwald points out, any attempt made to roll back these measures and powers (which were taken to a new level under George W Bush) have been largely blocked on a bipartisan basis. Fifteen years ago it was the Democrats who were somewhat critical and yet nowadays the criticism is just as likely to come from the libertarian wing of the GOP. But in the end both the Democrats and Republicans are parties to this undermining of US Constitutional law. Both parties pay lip service to the law and the ideals that undergird it and yet both in the end are mere political creatures, clamouring for power come what may.

And yet the greatest moment of hypocrisy was when the Democrats voted to expand Trump's powers even while perpetuating the fictions surrounding Russiagate and arguing that he was a mere puppet of Putin, a dangerous dictator and the like. The campaign against him was a political one and yet its arguments were fallacious and deliberately so.

And yet by the next election cycle everyone will get whipped up, thinking the latest candidate is somehow different. He, she, or even it, is going to change things – and of course the next election will undoubtedly be the most important of our lifetime.

These people are vile. As Christians we understand that the powers that be are ordained by God and if God's purpose is to bring judgment on the evil American Empire, then so be it. We obey the laws, even if we don't agree with them, even if we think they're dumb. As long as it's not sin, then we comply and also pay our taxes and so forth. We're just pilgrims here anyway.

But as Christians we should be the last people to be taken in by all this, whipped up into supporting (or vigorously opposing) this or that candidate. They're all the same types and they all drink from the same poisoned wells.

And while I'm thankful that figures like Greenwald are willing to take a stand and tell the truth, I must say he has really disappointed me lately the way he continues to pander to FOX and appear on its programmes. I find myself less and less interested in following his reporting.

Mammon reigns in this present evil age. We can never forget that and we must always be on guard against it.